6 ms·
Makes sense, but we aren't speaking German here.
by ripdog 4y ago
Makes sense, but we aren't speaking German here.
- int_19h 4y agoIn English, animals are routinely referred to as "it", and they're obviously animate. So, at most it could be said that "it" doesn't normally refer to persons... but even that's not true if you include sci-fi in your definition of "English language". When dealing with topics such as non-standard biological sex and/or gender fluidity, older sci-fi works would often use "it" for such people without any implication of non-personhood.